Chapter 271

After our trip to the market, I spent some time in the Ruby Vixen's lobby hanging out with some of the succubi who were happy living and working at the brothel. Their standard of living has gotten a lot better for most of them since they had transformed. The reduced need for food and greater enjoyment of sex has made it so they not only enjoy their time at work better, but they also have more time, energy, and money to put toward other things. The increased amount of money means they can send more back to their families, put more money toward hobbies, or enjoy their time off more. It was nice to see how much the transformation has had a positive influence on most of them.

While there were still a few who were having some second thoughts about tying the future of their lives to sex, I was happy to hear that no one was completely unhappy with their choice. It was a bit of a relief that no one so far felt like they had made a significant mistake. And on the bright side, even though they had to have enough sex to remain satiated, Oceane was increasingly giving all the brothel girls additional options to do something else if they got tired of brothel work.

The sun was setting and the brothel was about to open to the public for the night. The orange glow of the setting sun shining through the new stained-glass windows looked especially pretty at dusk. The brothel was busy with succubi getting ready for another night entertaining customers when Oceane returned from the mercenary company building. I turned to look at the door just as the light was reflecting on her deep blue snakeskin scales. The light created a bit of a halo effect on her, and I was stunned for a moment by how beautiful she looked when she came through the door.

Oceane smiled and slithered up to me when our eyes met. "Ah! Lilith! I'm glad I was able to finish my work early for the day, though I'm a bit afraid of the workload I'll have tomorrow after shifting away most of my work for the trip to the castle. Would you mind if I take some of your time this evening?"

I stood up and smiled. "Of course, Oceane. What did you have in mind?"

She grinned and I felt some of her lust leak through the bond. The touch of desire I felt quickly got me in the mood. I felt it inflame my own desires and my nipples quickly hardened at the taste. Her hand slipped into mine and she started to pull me away from the group of giggling succubi I had been talking to. "Let's go back to my room where we can enjoy some time together while you're still here."

My eyebrows raised at the sudden invitation, but it gave me an idea. "Sure, I would be happy to do that... but on one condition."

She turned back toward me and raised an eyebrow herself. A curious grin curled at her lips. "A condition? Consider me curious."

I stepped forward and let some of my own burgeoning lust flow through our bond. "We'll invite Grace to join us tonight."

Her teasing grin faltered for a moment. "Tonight? I thought you said you would... test the waters for me?"

"Consider the waters being tested," I said while taking the initiative to pull her along. "Grace is in her office right now. I'm sure we could convince her to take a break for the two of us."

I felt some uncertainty and anxiety in Oceane before she was able to hide her emotions from the bond again.

"You should be more open with your feelings, Oceane. Stop clamping down on the bond so much. I don't think that's healthy for you," I told her.

She didn't reply before I managed to pull her behind the reception desk and knocked on Grace's office door.

"Come in," Grace called out.

Not wanting to pull Oceane too out of her element, I let go of her wrist before opening the door for the two of us. Oceane glanced at me with a slightly annoyed expression before moving past me and into Grace's office. Her expression vanished before she turned to Grace.

"Oh, Oceane? Did you need me for something?" Grace asked.

"I finished my work early tonight, and I was planning on spending some time with Lilith in my room," Oceane said stiffly.

Grace turned to me with a confused expression. "I see?"

I smiled. "Come enjoy the evening with us, Grace. You've been working hard and you made me promise to spend a night with you while I'm here. Let's spend it together with Oceane."

Grace looked surprised and glanced at Oceane. I felt the telling sensation of Grace clamping down on her bond as well. Grace closed a folder of papers and set them aside before standing up with a smile. "Sure, that sounds fun. Should I bring anything?" Grace tilted her head toward Oceane, the question obviously targeted toward her.

"No, we should have everything we need in my room..." Oceane answered. I wouldn't call her responses meek right now, but they didn't project her normal confidence, and I wasn't sure if she even realized that she was acting differently. It was clear from both of them that there was a bit of complicated feelings here.

Before anyone else could say anything, Oceane turned and opened the door behind her. A mask of confidence settled back over her face. "Let's go to my room then. It's been too long since I've had any time to truly relax."

Grace swiftly walked around her desk and followed the two of us out. I caught the eager smile on her face as she locked the door behind us. When we walked up the stairs to Oceane's office on the other floor, there were a lot of whispers and giggles coming from the other girls. While the two women next to me held their bond tightly closed off, I didn't even try to hide the lust that I was feeling for the two of them. Everyone in the brothel knew that I was excited for what was about to come and who was joining me for it.

I looked up at the sway of Oceane's hips as her powerful snake tail slithered up the steps. It was rather interesting to see how easily she was able to glide up the stairs, a potential difficulty I hadn't considered until now that turned out to be no difficulty at all. The three of us walked past her office in the brothel and over to a door I had never seen anyone come in or out of before.

Oceane quickly unlocked the door and led us inside. "This is my private room... I used to sleep here, but since I no longer need to sleep, I mainly use it to enjoy myself with the girls and keep myself satisfied."

"Should I be worried about the girls sleeping with what is effectively their boss?" I asked.

Oceane laughed and turned around to face me. "I could see how that could be a concern in another scenario. The ability to share our feelings and make things clear through the bond makes it easy to set clear boundaries. Even if there was some preferential treatment to give, our new bond as succubi sisters has flattened out a lot of the power I have over the others."

"Couldn't you still throw someone out or withhold someone's wages?" I asked.

Oceane shook her head. "It doesn't work that way around here anymore. We're not charging any of them rent on their shared rooms anymore and I only take a standard cut from their customers now. All of us have grown a lot more communal, it's not necessary to control their finances and payroll anymore... at least for the ones that can do the math themselves. All of us know that anyone trying to skirt the deal will be caught immediately because of the bond too, not that I would expect any of them to do that. It benefits all of the current succubi to continue to improve the brothel and have a home to return to."

Grace smiled and nodded. "Despite all of those changes, the brothel is surprisingly taking in more money than ever. We do not need to buy large quantities of food anymore and the girls have become significantly more popular. Our cut pays for the taxes on the building, upgrades and construction, and our other ventures, like the mercenary company. At least for now, everyone is happy to chip in."

I raised an eyebrow, "That sounds like it could cause problems of a different kind."

Oceane shrugged. "If it causes problems down the line, we'll reassess later. I am careful to maintain a healthy amount of liquid money in the case of emergencies. All of that is to say none of the girls need to feel pressured to please me anymore. The ones who I approach and approach me in return simply wish to enjoy some mutual satisfaction."

Grace sat down on one of the couches surrounding her coffee table. "It has not completely changed the dynamic around here yet, though. There are plenty of girls who remember the old domineering Madame Oceane. The difference now is that power dynamic is mostly expressed in the submissive ones worshiping their dominant in bed."

Oceane sat on the couch opposite of Grace and smirked as she poured the three of us small glasses of alcohol from the decanter she had left on the table. "I can't help it if I enjoy leaning into the persona that's become associated with me. You have your own share of girls who choose to worship you as well."

Grace blushed and looked away. "I admit that I have my share of girls I regularly spend time with. Though most of the ones that are interested in me are the ones who... like things a bit more rough."

Oceane laughed. "One of the girls that likes Grace the most awakened an affinity for healing magic... we've had to spend some money soundproofing some of the walls," Oceane said before sipping from her glass.

Grace sighed and picked up the glass in front of her. "Elodie... The healing magic has only made her tastes more extreme. I've had to set a few strong boundaries with her... but it's useful to have someone around who can fix people up after particularly intense sessions... How is she doing as a mercenary?"

Oceane sipped from her drink before smiling. "Elodie may be our best healer by far. I had been a bit worried, but it's clear to me that she can separate 'work injuries' from 'playtime injuries' without any trouble."

Grace nodded. "Elodie is a masochist and likes to watch others receive pain as well, but I never believed she would be foolish enough to get in the way of healing herself or others when they need it."

"Perhaps," Oceane replied with a shrug. "But it was important to be sure. It's not just her own life at risk if she loses focus. I'm still not sure if she's been pushed to her limits yet. I'm considering asking her to let me put her in chastity for a few days to see."

"You are worried that watching her party members get hurt would arouse her?" I asked.

"Well... It does arouse her, but not enough to actually hamper her effectiveness or performance in battle. She just always comes home extremely needy after a job," Oceane replied.

Grace nodded. "I can attest to that... Some of our extended sessions after she has been on a job have been quite fun..."

I took a sip of the alcohol that Oceane poured me, and it was really strong. I think it was a whisky, but I'm not very knowledgeable about alcohol, especially in this world.

"Not to your tastes?" Oceane asked.

"It's a little strong... I don't really drink that much," I admitted.

Grace finished her glass and set it on the table. "No more for me tonight... Thank you for the glass, Oceane."

"Of course," she replied with a smile.

There was a long pause between the three of us and you could feel the tension in the air. I got the sense that both of them were eager to get started but were finding it difficult. There was an underlying awkwardness to this expression of their relationship, especially since they've both become succubi. I found it intriguing that despite the bond, both of them were still managing to hide their obvious feelings for each other.

Grace cleared her throat. "So. Shall we... get started then?"

I took one more sip of the whisky and set it down on the table before starting to slowly unbutton my shirt. Neither of the two followed immediately, so I grinned and began to give the two of them a strip-show. Oceane hadn't quite finished her drink yet so she smirked and sipped at it as my clothes were tossed off the side of the couch.

Once I was fully undressed, I dropped my slick panties in the pile and allowed my true form to reassert itself. This time, I wouldn't be ceding control of the situation to either of them.